Improvement in iron safes



' Letters Patent No. 103,494, dated october 1s, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN IRON SAFES.

The Schedule referred to in these` Letters Patentand shaking part b! the am I, Lewis LILLIE, of the town of Clinton, county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certair Improvements iu Iron Safes, of which the following` is .a specification.

My improvements consist- First, in adding tensile to vertical strength ol" the door;

Fourth, in a peculiar adaptation et' bolt and spindie toloclting and securing the door; and

Fifth, iu the use of steel inl certain parts, in ronn- .bination, as hereinafter described. v

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a front view of the safe, showing the position ol' the lock and the place where thc bolt en-4 Figure 2 isa cross-section of front'aud door, and shows the principle of security in the lock'.

Figure 3 is a verticalV section of the front., showing the means of increase of tensile strength of resistance in the front.

Figure 4 is a cross-section through the body of the safe, showing the apertures for thc rods of steel to balk the drill. f

Figure 5 is a piece ot' one of the sides ot' a case o'r box of wrought-metal plates, cast in the body, the edges of which are vseen in fig. 4.

Figure 6 is the improved spindle of the lock.

There is shown in tig. 3, rings a, which are of cast. steel bars, about an inch square,imbedded in the iron when east.

The tensile strength ot' each ring heilig about one hundred and thirty thousand pounds, two or three or more of these rings imbedded in the five inches of cast-iron around the opening fort-he door ofiers a resista nce so that no wedging between the door and jainb an open it one hairs breadth.

In' the maiu body ofthe Safe, as shown in tig. 4, holes about an inch in diameter are cored inthe casting, alternated, so that a drill can only be introduced between them at such an angle, if at all, as to reuder perforation of the next hard obstruction an impossibility.

The cored holes are lilled willi hardencdstcel rods,

,driven iu after the safe is east,` the holes coming through at the back of the safe. 4

The wrought-metal pipes of my former patent are mitted. v i

The door, ttiug as shown in iig. 2, is either made first, and the safe cast Aupon it, or the safe is made first., and the door cast in the opening. In either case, the hinges are imbedded in the castings. I, by this manner, obtain a perfect fitof the door to the jambs.

The lock b is attached to the bodyof the safe. The inner edge of the door in opening moves in a circle, the arc of which is shown by dotted lines in fig. 2, the hinge being the center; -auy small hard substance, an eighth of an inch in thickness, interposed between the door and the janib at that edge, renders the door immovable. l therefore forni a recess, c, in the inner edge of the door, for the interpositiou of the boltLbetween the door and the jamb; its slightly wedging fit secures the door more etectually than by any other locking. No force less than is required to crush the nieta-l to atoms can open the door the sixteenth of an inch; at the same time there is a projection, k, on the. opposite side of thedoor, that catches in a corresponding projection in the jinnb, and which would, with the lock, keep the door in its place, if the hinges were entirely cut off.

'Ihe spindle e of the lock b has a shoulder, f, at its upper end, t-he part above it fitting a recess, g.

In the top ot' the safe rings ot' rubber, h, or any other elastic material, are pluccd between the shoul der and the bottom ot' the recess. A nut, i, is put upon the spindle inside the safe, and as the spindle passes freely quite through the lock, no pulling or driving ca-n remove the spindle or injure the lock.

Casting frames or boxes, in the body of' va safe, formed oi' bars of wrought-iron, is common. Iam not aware that steel plates have ever been used to enhance the strength.

Fig. 5 represents a piece of the side of the flame or box, the edge of which is shown at j in fig.4; the cast metal meeting through the holes i'ormsa solid plate. lcrlnutat'on dalloelrs are used, and there can be more than one, it' prelerred, and can be operated by one spindle.

I claim- 1. The rings n, constructed as and for the purpose shown and described. l

2. The hardenedsteel rods, as and for the purpose vhereinbei'ore set forth.

3. rlhe method of casting the door audsafe in relation to. each other, as described.

LEWIS LILLIE.

Witnesses=` Raum H. IAnm, ROBERT LANG. 

